THE Department of Home Affairs has said it will save nearly half a million pounds by halving the number of staff who work at the headquarters.
Last month it was revealed that "significant changes" would take place in order to balance the budget for 2011/2012 by £2.5million pounds.
The 24 staff who work out of Woodbourne Road will be reduced to 12 with seven senior and middle manager posts being cut along with five lower admin and secretarial grades.
Paula Primrose, director of finance for the department, said: "Significant progress has been made in finding alternative posts for the staff affected and consultations are ongoing to determine opportunities for their redeployment if required - although two people have indicated they wish to opt for early retirement.
"Two officers have already transferred to another department and two others will transfer to the Treasury shared service centre in the summer. Two officers have other roles lined up to start soon and I am optimistic that suitable jobs will be found within the public service for most of the remaining officers affected."
Cuts include that of the department's dedicated press and PR officer. This post has now been removed completely. The remit of two senior directors, who were responsible for managing business change and researching social policy, has been combined into a single post and two finance middle management posts have also been merged into one.
Three posts will transfer to the Treasury to work in the government’s shared service centres in finance and procurement and an in-house staff welfare office will not be replaced following the previous post holder’s resignation.
The Emergency Planning Unit and Civil Defence will be put under the management of another section of the department which has made one post surplus to requirements and financial support for the Chief Minister's Drug and Alcohol Strategy has been reduced on the basis the strategy is now mature which has also resulted in the loss of another three posts. Management of this strategy will now transfer to another senior officer within the Chief Executive's Office.
Adrian Earnshaw MHK, Home Affairs Minister, said: "Hard financial circumstances mean that tough decisions have to be taken. Making these staff cuts should not be seen as a reflection on the individuals concerned but as the result of the straitened times we find ourselves in.
"Halving the amount of staff based at our headquarters will inevitably have an impact. However I am working with my senior officers to ensure the department continues to support the work of the operational divisions.
"All officers are committed to working together to minimise any impact on the public. The result will be a streamlining of the department’s administration but there will be no compromise on delivering our primary focus that is achieving the high level of public safety we have come to expect.
"My priority throughout has been protecting frontline services to ensure the ongoing safety of the public of the Isle of Man which is our prime aim."
The department has also been asked to take its total spending from £34.1million to £31.6m and the department has been working to reduce discretionary spending including costs of travel, training, equipment and overtime.
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